


connecting constellations

by sadboykylo



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Batuu, Canon Compliant, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Post-Crait, Sexual Frustration, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 09:17:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17784680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadboykylo/pseuds/sadboykylo
Summary: months after crait, the force bond comes alive.





	connecting constellations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bensforce (KylosOrder)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KylosOrder/gifts), [Like_A_Dove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Like_A_Dove/gifts).



> happy valentine's day!

**Connecting Constellations**

 

_"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves."_

**_William Shakespeare_ **

 

* * *

 

The dark blue that blanketed the horizon dragged starlight into a peeking sunshine. Streets were filled with an expected morning buzz that thrived even well before dawn — a grand display of movement and commotion. Concealed faces entrapped by smog, scarves, and scars pushed past one another. They always sent inquisiting eyes in her direction, but never allowed them to linger long enough to raise suspicion.

 

On Batuu, the last Jedi was any other scoundrel keeping their head hung low in an attempt to avoid the prevailing decree. It had been quite ironic — a flourishing, verdant planet becoming a safe haven for ebbing lives. The universe felt smaller and the days seemed longer. Rey had found herself in the company of indebted smugglers, rogue soldiers, bounty hunters, and anyone else that desired safety from the reigning First Order.

 

Despite the variety of characters that placed a concerning twinge in one’s gut, the people were actually quite stubborn and always persevered. They were given their circumstance and decided to build a community from it. It was a feeling too close to home; one Rey could empathize with. Easily, she found herself echoing the beat, a talent her friends had yet to pick up.

 

As a labyrinth of alleyways, swamped street markets, and catinas of unemployed drifters gambling for credits to afford their next drink — Black Spire Outpost was the perfect location to recruit.

 

The spark was flickering and edging to the seduction of darkness. The resistance could still taste the bludgeoned salt of Crait. It stung open wounds and left a bitter aftertaste in the back of any rebel’s throat.

 

Beneath an armband of brown leather that hugged her bicep, a hidden laceration of two reaching marks seemed almost to sting in accompany of the thought. The battle kept her up in the late hours and had her mind wandering throughout the day. Master Luke would have been ashamed in her lack of focus, and especially as of late, she had wished his thoughtful advice was still available for her racing questions.

 

It had been months and Rey could still smell the burning embers of the throne room; could still envision his pleading eyes as he reached out to her. The Jedi texts were not an easy read and all again, Rey felt terribly alone in the galaxy.

 

Eventually, the war had dwindled down.

 

Without a pesky rebellion, the First Order was thriving. One by one, the planets vowed their loyalty to the Supreme Leader in return for safety, low taxation and fresh imports. The faces of her friends painted wanted holograms on the basis of treason and terrorism, but never broadcasted her face.

 

The violence was silent, but the base still whispered of tomorrow. The voices carried a wishful promise of vengeance and anticipation. Rey had become their last Jedi and their last hope, the resistance’s best chance at destroying Kylo Ren.

 

And it had been the perpetual, harrowing reminder that she would have to kill him that made her roll over at night and stare at a scratchless metal wall.

 

Despite being several star systems and a lightspeed jump away, she felt closer to Jakku than ever before. She was surrounded by a bustling village, her friends, and the last of the Resistance —  yet felt lonelier than the desolate speck of the desert against a darkened sky.

 

At one point in time, Rey never knew there was so much green in the galaxy. Now, she felt suffocated by the color — so much so, she was sick and exhausted of the scent it seemed to exhaust: growth, chance, rebirth.

 

The only time she hadn’t felt alone was in a hut, hidden along the Jedi steps, on an island surrounded by raging water. It was there she could feel the tangible and tingling sensation of the Force as their fingers grazed constellations away; connecting and binding them forever.

 

On Batuu, it was quiet.

 

Until, it wasn’t.

 

The surge seemed to sprout from the soil and climb up her leg like a growing vine. Rey practically jettisoned off the main pathway, her mind following an unworded reasoning to recoil into the surrounding forest. A nearby temple was carved into bedrock, rotting of moss curtains and questionable flora.

 

Within the wind, something was whispering.

 

Somehow — somewhere — the humming of a starship collided into the rushing water of a nearby stream. It burbled over the protruding stone and stitched itself into the harmony. The beeping of a protocol droid met creatures croaking and chirping, a heavy metallic exhale kissed her waning breath, and the clamorous commute of the streets seemed almost to flatline behind her.

 

 _A creature in a mask_ stood in the dampened pebbles of the bank. The length of his cape narrowingly touched the surface and soaked at the seam. He was surrounded by greenery and drenched in the light that crept through a canopy of branches.

 

His silhouette was frightening, yet the familiar wavelengths that echoed within the connection was almost comforting.

 

He didn’t know what to do, or how to react. The bond — more likely, the Force — connected them _now_ after all this time. They were both caught in a state of bewilderment and surprise, just staring at one another.

 

For a moment, their entire lives were put on halt. Batuu had paused the spin on her axis while the outside world was just a blur along the margins; a paint stroke of blending greens and blues. Any sound becoming of the forest was drowned out by the drone of a livewire meeting water.

 

“Why are you wearing that — ” It took everything for Rey not to spat through seething teeth. “ — _thing? ”_

 

The matte black helmet was covering his face. Only now, it was much more menacing and concerning. Where cracks had originally destroyed the mask, molten-red lines had been melted between to mend the breakage.

 

He hardly missed a beat. “Why is your hair up?”

 

Without much resistance, her cheeks flared a gushing pink. She could feel the warmth beneath her skin as she tried to collect a coherent response.  

 

Months since the Battle of Crait and they both had easily returned to what they knew best: waiting and veiling. Her three buns were a symbol of statuary hope — _a child yearning to the lavender horizon of Jakku_ — while his mask was a method of hiding what he could never depart from — _the innerving reminder that he was, indeed, a Solo._

 

“Take it off,” Rey demanded.

 

He stood resolute and relentless — unfortunate traits for any Skywalker.

 

Rey’s voice softened. “Ben, take it off.”

 

The demeanor he white-knuckled collapsed. His shoulders released a held tension, his chest deflating lower and lower into the celestial connecting. The vacancy between them radiated into tangible dancing lines. Within the void, she could hear his heart beating.

 

He raised his gloved hands to the high collar that hugged his neck. Beneath the fringe, his fingers fumbled with the metallic mask until it released a hiss of exhaust. With one swift, yet familiar, movement, he lifted the helmet of his head and bore into her with his own eyes. His hair was his crowning glory; sable and black and delicate as sin. The strands fell onto his shoulders, melting into the darkness of his cape.

 

“I thought our — ” He stopped, struggling to find the word to define what was happening between them. “ — this connection was broken.” His voice was honest, a tone of admittance.

 

“I thought so too.”

 

_If it hadn’t been broken, what took you so long?_

 

The words weren’t vocalized, but a softening expression in his face rendered the possibility that he heard her as loud as ever.

 

"Why aren't you tracking me? Why are you targeting my friends?" 

 

“It’s warm where you are.” He stated matter-of-factly.

 

Rey pressed her lips firmly together.

 

He took several steps forward, closing their vicinity and climbing the rocky bank of the stream. Beyond words, they were together again across time and space, across the stars, by the will of a stubborn outside force.

 

“I can feel it emitting off of you,” another step forward and his eyes searched other places that weren’t her questioning eyes. “You’re on a planet, aren’t you?”

 

“No.”

 

“Nonsense, we destroyed your fleet.”

 

“And you know your mother will just build another — !”

 

He interjected. “Where are you, Rey?”

 

Hearing her own name escape his mouth was intoxicating. He said it again, knowing what it did to her. His lips would hardly touch as they rolled the pronunciation, allowing it to echo leisurely through the bond.

 

“The outer rim? Western reaches? Are the outlaws with you? The traitors you call friends?" The closer he got, the harder the thump of her heart in her eardrum reverberated. She sucked on the inside of her cheek and slowly raised her chin to meet his looming figure.

 

“I’m not telling,” another step forward and her breath caught in her throat. “ — you.”

 

“Why not?” His eyes shifted lower, finding her lips. _We’ve touched through the Force before,_  faintly she could hear his transparent thoughts, _you know it would work._ “I’d search this entire galaxy and eventually, I would find you.”

 

Rey sputtered, failing to find coherence. “I’m right here.”

 

The nerve in his cheek flexed and suddenly, his mouth was doing _that_ thing.

 

Ben hesitated. His thoughts had faltered for a second as he searched for anything to settle the reaction between them. The Force was alive and thriving amongst the green, begging to be allowed into their own atmospheres. He dived in completely and faithfully. 

 

Unquestionably, as if Rey could really read his mind, she interjected just before his lips begun to part into another question. 

 

“Meet me on Ahch-to,” Rey told Ben, breathlessly.

 


End file.
